(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Indigo flight disruptions reached the Parliament with Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday, moving a notice in Rajya Sabha, requesting the Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu to make a statement on the disruption of Indigo airlines' operations, which has been causing severe inconvenience to passengers across the country.

IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights this week following a crew shortage, and the private airline has now told India's aviation regulator that it expects to return to normal operations by 10 February.

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The flight disruptions entered their fourth day after 550 flights were cancelled on Thursday.

In her notice, Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote, "I hereby give notice under Rule 180 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to call the attention of the Minister of Civil Aviation to the following matter of urgent public importance," she wrote in the notice.

She cited passenger safety and convenience, calling it a matter of "urgent public importance."

"The widespread disruption in IndiGo Airlines' operations on Wednesday, resulting in severe delays of up to seven hours and cancellation of more than 70 flights nationwide, including major airports such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, was caused by an acute shortage of crew and other operational issues. The situation led to significant hardship for passengers, with several key domestic routes and international services such as the Mumbai-Maldives flight severely affected during peak hours," she said.

Disruptions continued on the fourth day on Friday. Early morning flights from Delhi to Pune were among the cancellations.

"The matter is of urgent public importance as thousands of passengers were stranded, normal airport functioning was affected, and recurrent large-scale disruptions in airline services highlight a need for immediate government intervention, accountability measures, and safeguards to prevent future occurrences. I request that the Minister make a statement on the matter at an early date," she added.

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Following a detailed review meeting under the chairmanship of the DGCA with the senior leadership of IndiGo, the regulator said that to reduce passenger inconvenience while maintaining safety margins, IndiGo has requested operational variations or exemptions from specific FDTL provisions for A320 operations up to February 10, 2026.

Rahul Questions 'monopoly model'

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday criticised the Centre over IndiGo experiencing operational disruptions and flight cancellations, attributing the issues to a "monopoly model".

In an X post, Rahul Gandhi attributed the recent disruptions in the airline sector to a monopoly, demanding "fair competition" in the market.

The matter is of urgent public importance as thousands of passengers were stranded.

"IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt's monopoly model. Once again, it's ordinary Indians who pay the price - in delays, cancellations and helplessness. India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," the Congress MP wrote.

IndiGo has seen a sharp rise in cancellations, reaching approximately 170-200 flights per day, significantly higher than usual, prompting concerns over passenger safety and convenience.

(With agency inputs)

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